The index
is available here, and its most noticeable characteristic is
that it is built to change daily depending on stock fluctuations
and economic/company news. From the methodology—

The index is a dynamic measure of the world’s wealthy based
on changes in markets, the economy and Bloomberg reporting. Each
net-worth figure is updated every business day at 5:30 p.m. New
York time. Stakes in publicly traded companies are valued using
the share’s most recent closing price. All numbers are in U.S.
dollars at current exchange rates.

This could mean trouble for Forbes, which is known for publishing lists
detailing various types of rich individuals. The magazine's
annual billionaire's list usually drops in March, though it seems
like for 2012 Bloomberg has beaten them to the punch. The
2011
list is available on the Forbes site right now.

For today, the 3 list toppers on Bloomberg's Index actually match
the top 3 in Forbes' 2011 list of the world's
billionaires—starting with Mexican business mogul Carlos Slim
Helu, followed by American tech giant Bill Gates and investment guru Warren Buffett.

We'll have more comparisons of the richest kids on the block up
later today.